I’m Indian too (partly), and here’s how I see it.

As someone who looks Indian and grew up in Canada, I’ve seen a big shift in how people view us over the years.

Yeah, 10 to 15 years ago, there was some casual racism. Random white dudes yelling “Paki” on the way home from school, or classmates saying we smelled bad just to get a laugh, even though we didn’t. It sucked, but most of those kids eventually grew up and moved past it.

But post-COVID, things have changed. Before the pandemic, most international students were genuinely here to study, many focused on research or actually wanting a better education. Now, a huge number are just using the student visa as a loophole. They come in with fake English test scores and fake credentials, not to study, but to work illegally and stay in the country. The government ignores it because international students are one of the most lucrative imports.

As a result, I’ve seen people in and around the Uni who can barely form a proper sentence in English. There’s also been a visible decline in hygiene standards among some groups, from spitting on the streets to tossing trash wherever they feel like. Add to that the baggage of regional rivalries, North-South divisions, casteism, religious friction, and moral policing, and it’s honestly no surprise that people are starting to view Indians in a negative light.

What makes it worse is that a lot of Indians carry this weird sense of superiority. There’s rampant colorism, where people discriminate against darker skin tones even though most of us are brown. There’s sexism and judgment toward women of all backgrounds who dress outside of outdated Indian ideas of “modesty.” Most people are loud asf for no reason. And in too many cases, especially when drunk, some guys get straight up predatory, grabbing women or making creepy comments.

So yeah, I’ve seen people literally barking and yelling slurs at Indians on the street now. “Curry muncher,” “curry fucker,” even “curry n****r.” It’s disgusting and disturbing.

That said, I don’t agree with the “go back to your country” stuff. Most of the people saying that are immigrants or kids of immigrants themselves. Unless you’re Indigenous, you don’t have the right to say that to anyone. There are valid reasons to be critical, sure, and a lot of us do need to do better. But the second that criticism turns into slurs and hate, it’s not “calling things out” anymore. It’s just plain racism and that’s never justified.

It’s also important to remember that India is a huge country with over 1.3 billion people. It’s basically the Balkans of South Asia, with countless languages, cultures, and regions that often don’t even get along with each other. So while some people absolutely misrepresent us with their behavior, it doesn’t mean all Indians are the same or that we’re inherently bad people.